Link Dump

I've been laying low this week.

It's not by choice. The house is still wrecked, which means we're well into the second month of living in a hotel. Which means the grandparents don't have room to crash overnight when Michelle's working. Which means I have no babysitters at 5 a.m. Which means no gym. Which means I'm cranky and restless.

Maybe it's a good thing that I'm forced into taking a few days off. My right shoulder has been bothering me for over a week now, and I might as well give it some extra time to recover.

Plus, I've been slammed with work, kid stuff, and the Nom Nom Paleo iPad App. (Yes, still. We're feverishly working on a new update to fix the update that was supposed to fix the previous update, but didn't. Got that?) So getting a few extra hours of sleep is a good thing. 

I'm hitting the sack, but if you're looking for something to read, check out these links:

• The New York Times wrote up a nice piece about CrossFit and Memorial Day Murph.

• "The Paleo Diet Moves From The Gym To The Doctor's Office" (NPR)

• Our friend Stacy Toth from Paleo Parents is the "Face of Paleo" in Women's World!

• Holy crap. Tickets for this year's CrossFit Games are sold out. The Home Depot Center is at capacity. I fully expect that it'll be a bazillion times crazier than last year. (And it was already pretty insane last year.) To whet your appetite for the competition, check out the Regional summary videos here.

• The Wirecutter recently researched and wrote a lengthy piece on the best standing desks. Check it out, because your office chair is killing you.

• Last but not least: Glazed-donut-flavored vodka exists. Be afraid.

Wednesday's Workout

I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. More precisely: A monster truck named Murph.

Approximately 84.5 percent of me wanted to hurl my alarm clock against the wall and go back to sleep. But 12.5 percent of me recognized that my beloved iPhone was serving as my alarm clock, and stayed my hand. And the remaining 3 percent of me realized that today was my last chance to work out with the 5 a.m. crew until next Wednesday.

I staggered out of bed on legs that wouldn't bend, and pulled on my clothes with arms that refused to be raised more a few degrees. A slug of coffee later, I sprawled out on the floor of the hotel room, stretching and mobilizing as best I could. It was an unpleasant but necessary way to start the day.

After a creakier-than-usual warm-up at the gym, I paired up with Jay for some front squats. We got some decent weight on the bar, but both of us were feeling wrecked, and steered well clear of PR territory. I tried to focus on my form instead, working on leading with my elbows, pushing out my knees to generate torque, and keeping my gut tight.

Next -- the metcon:

• 5 rounds for time (with a 15-minute cap) of:

• 25 push-presses (75# / 55#)
• 50 double-unders

Surprisingly, my full-body soreness seemed to disappear once I got going. As soon as the clock started, my body somehow managed to crank out push-presses and double-unders without hesitation. (Well, for the first couple of rounds, anyway. After that, there was plenty of hesitation. I'm embarrassed to report that I took more than my fair share of mid-round rest breaks during the push-presses.)

Result: 14:48 as RXed. I snuck in under the wire by just 12 seconds.

And then I promptly went back to being sore.

Memorial Day Murph

Along with scores of CrossFitters everywhere, the crew at CrossFit Palo Alto did Murph today.

For time:

• 1 mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 squats
• 1 mile run

The workout must start and end with a one-mile run, but the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats can be broken up and done in whichever order you choose.

The usual strategy is to do 20 rounds of Cindy -- 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats -- but I decided to take another approach today. I inserted some squats between the pull-ups and push-ups to give my arms a breather, and also told myself I'd pop up and do more squats once my push-ups began to fail (rather than waste time struggling to eke out singles).

Did it work? Sort of. It felt good to keep moving, and it helped stave off the frustration that comes with trying (and failing) to string together a few push-ups. On the other hand, all the transitions between movements were a huge time-suck.

Result: 41:20 as RXed. Or was it 42:10? Either way, my time was several minutes slower than my last go at Memorial Day Murph, which is disappointing.

Still, this workout is one of my all-time favorites -- especially given that it's one that everyone at the gym can experience together.

(Note: I may be singing an entirely different tune when I wake up tomorrow and find myself unable to move.)

New Year's Murph

For weeks, I'd been looking forward to revisiting Murph, the CrossFit "Hero" WOD named for a Navy lieutenant killed in Afghanistan. I've done Murph twice before -- on New Year's Day and Memorial Day this year -- and developed a special love for this grinder of a WOD:

For time:

• 1 mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 squats
• 1 mile run

The one-mile runs must bookend the workout, but the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats can be broken up in whatever manner you choose. I've typically done 20 rounds of Cindy -- 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats -- and intended to do the same today.

CrossFit Palo Alto was packed this morning for New Year's Murph -- so much so that the 9 a.m. session had to be split into two heats so that there'd be enough pull-up bar space for everyone. I was in the second heat, and paced impatiently while the first wave took off running.

When I finally got going, I took off on a dead sprint. The first mile felt great; I hadn't exercised in a few days, and I enjoyed stretching my legs. Likewise, my six or seven rounds of Cindy flew by without any problems. My pull-ups and push-ups were fast and fluid, and I was cranking out air squats as fast as I could.

My pull-ups and squats remained strong throughout the workout, but my push-ups broke down sooner than expected. I'm used to being able to get through a good 10 to 12 rounds of Cindy before my arms turn to jelly, but before I was halfway through the WOD, I hit a wall. Suddenly, I couldn't perform more than a handful of push-ups at a time, so I ended up changing my approach. Instead of doing 10 consecutive push-ups in Cindy-like fashion, I started breaking them up: 5 push-ups, then 15 air squats, then back on the ground to finish the push-ups.

I need to be more like this little guy:



When I got back on my feet to complete my final one-mile run, my dead arms dangled loosely at my sides. The last half-mile was painful -- I had a side stitch (which I never, ever get), and stopped to double over a few times. Ugh.

Result: 41:30 as RXed -- three minutes slower than my previous effort. I still love Murph for its bodyweight-focused movements, and I had a fantastic time working out with some of my favorite people at CrossFit Palo Alto -- but I'm a bit disappointed in my time.

Thankfully, there's always next year. And next year starts tomorrow.

Good Morning

When on vacation, I'm all about sitting around the pool, reading a good book and watching the kids splash around. These days, our travels usually involve minimal sightseeing and maximal R&R. Still, too much lazing around gets me antsy; being inactive for more than a couple of days is torture.

Thankfully, this morning was a particularly active one. On the agenda? CrossFit, outrigger canoe paddling, and snorkeling -- all before lunchtime.

Using a bit of reverse psychology ("Fine by me if you want to sleep in and miss CrossFit"), I managed to get M out of bed and down to Lahaina CrossFit for the 7 a.m. class.

Our workout consisted of three separate components:

1. Interval Sprints

Class started with some self-directed stretching, and then some group warm-up exercises. Once the blood was pumping, Anthony instructed us to perform 10 interval sprints. We ran like our hair was on fire for about 100 meters, and then jogged back -- 10 times. By the time I was done with my third sprint, I was dog-tired. My shirt was already soaked from the humidity and my own perspiration -- and the sun wasn't even bearing down on us yet.

There's something to be said about working out in the chilly pre-dawn darkness, y'all.

2. Twelve Rounds of Cindy (5 Pull-Ups, 10 Push-Ups, 15 Squats)

You know I'm head over heels about Cindy. Bodyweight workouts are my favorite, and Cindy is the queen of bodyweight WODs. I've loved every variation of Cindy I've tried: half-Cindy, three-quarter Cindy, full Cindy, task-priority Cindy, double-under Cindy, Murph, you name it. When I saw Cindy on the whiteboard today, a huge grin broke out on my face.

In fact, I'm sure I was practically drooling.

Still, it's not like a dozen rounds of Cindy is a walk in the park. In particular, the pull-ups gave me some grief after the first half-dozen rounds. After Round 6, I had to pause a couple of times during each set of pull-ups to wheeze and shake the sweat off my face. Nonetheless, the pull-ups and squats felt fast and smooth, and I managed to finish fairly quickly.

Result: 10:42 as RXed.

(The worst part of the workout was afterwards, when M made me stop taking pictures of her as she did push-ups. Note to self: Do not piss off the person who makes your food.)

3. Cleans (5-5-3-3-1-1)

After Tuesday's running-push-ups-burpees-squats-pull-ups workout and today's running-and-Cindy WOD, I was happy to see some barbell work on the board. The strength workout was optional, but a good number of us stuck around to practice cleans. It's been a week since I lifted an object heavier than my three-year-old kid, so I was in the mood for some squat cleans.



"Be careful with your back," M warned as I went to grab plates. It was a good reminder; even though my back feels infinitely better than it did a few weeks ago, going heavy would be a mistake. I kept it light, and well below my 1-rep max. But  by that point, I was exhausted anyway, so I doubt I would've been able to hoist a fully-loaded barbell up even if I'd tried.

Going light does have its disadvantages, though; judging from the bruise on my neck, I was cleaning the bar a bit too aggressively. Either that, or I passed out and someone gave me a hickey while I was unconscious.

After class, M and I drove back to meet up with the rest of the family, and we hit the ocean for an hour of outrigger canoe paddling with Maui Paddle Sports. My cousin and his wife are experienced, competitive, kick-ass paddlers, but M and I are total newbies. Secretly, I was hoping to be seated in one of their canoes so I could just coast and let them do all the heavy paddling.

Alas, M and I -- along with our boys -- were put in a separate canoe, so we actually had to work. It turned out to be incredibly fun and challenging, especially with our three-year-old dragging his paddle in the ocean and our six-year-old using his to giddily slap at the water. Paddling in unison, switching sides, thrusting with arms and back and core, bracing with legs -- all of it made for an excellent full-body workout.

"Regularly learn and play new sports," right?

Last but not least: Snorkeling. There's no better way to cool down than to float around in the warm ocean, casually following the fluorescent fish as they dart through coral.

I sorta don't want to go home.

Wednesday's Workout: 50% Off

Believe it or not, I managed to rein in my appetite this morning. It was a "50% off" kind of day.

My back felt okay as I stepped into the gym at 5 a.m., but I reminded myself to fight the usual urge to push myself. My goal over the course of the next month is simple: To recover. I'm going to focus on mobility, and resist the temptation to go heavy on strength work and metcons. Think I can do it?

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (5-3-3-1-1)

Instead of loading up the barbell, I cut my normal weight in half and did bodyweight deadlifts. And instead of five sets, I just did three sets of three. In other words: Super-light, super-short. It was just enough to get me moving a little bit, but not nearly enough to strain anything.

Metcon:

"Half-Cindy" -- in 10 minutes, as many rounds as possible of:

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 15 squats

I'm a huge fan of bodyweight workouts, and Cindy's the queen of 'em all. We've done a number of different variations on Cindy -- including Murph -- and I've loved all of them. And today, with doctor's orders not to go heavy, a short 10-minute bodyweight metcon couldn't have been more perfect. Before the clock started, I gingerly tested out each of the movements. None of them bothered me in the slightest, so I happily joined the rest of the class.

The workout was fun -- my pull-ups were strong and smooth, and the push-ups felt good and fast, too -- at least for the first five rounds or so. Towards the end, I had to take brief pauses after every 4 or 5 push-ups and squats, but my pull-ups never slowed.

And best of all, my back felt looser afterwards than it has in days.

Result: 11 rounds + 16 reps as RXed.

Friday's Workout: Rope a Dope

I'm a big fan of Cindy, the CrossFit WOD that calls for cranking out as many rounds as possible of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats in 20 minutes. It's pure sweetness.

What explains my fondness for this workout? It consists exclusively of three fundamental bodyweight movements -- and all three are right up my alley. I love kipping pull-ups, and can whip through 'em without pause. The pull-ups and air squats get more challenging as the WOD progresses, but in the early rounds, I can dash those off fairly quickly, too. 

My affection for Cindy extends to the many different variations of this workout I've tried. I've done a task-priority Cindy, a half-Cindy, a three-quarters Cindy, and a full Cindy -- all of them were fun. And my favorite Hero WOD is Murph, which is basically 20 rounds of Cindy sandwiched between two 1-mile runs. Each time I've done a Cindy-esque workout, I've averaged about one round per minute -- not elite by any means, but not too shabby, right?

So imagine how happy I was to see Tim write this on the whiteboard this morning:

AMRAP in 20 minutes:

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 15 pull-ups

...but he didn't stop there. He added one more line:

• 20 double-unders.

Holy moly. I should have known. After all, we'd kicked off today's class with some double-under practice, during which I clumsily tripped all over myself and my rope. But hey: There's no time like the present to squeeze in more double-unders -- even if it means doing them in a WOD.

Here's how the workout went down:

• Pull-ups: Great! They came fast and easy, and I went unbroken with each round. Bonus: No torn skin!

• Push-ups: For the first four rounds, the push-ups weren't a problem -- I got through each set of ten quickly and without much of a struggle. But by the fifth round, I was pausing after every few reps, and Tim was reminding me to make sure my chest touched the floor. And by the end of the WOD, my shoulders were utterly fried. In a good way.

• Squats: The squats didn't bother me much (at the time -- my legs are incredibly sore right now, though). I broke them down into three sets of 5 reps per round, and just pounded them out. 

• Double-unders: They went surprisingly well. Shocking!

For the first few rounds, Tim had to keep cueing me to keep my elbows tucked in close to my sides ("T-REX!" he yelled, reminding me to whip the rope with little itty bitty baby dinosaur arms instead of violently jerking it from my shoulders). During our pre-WOD practice, I'd failed to implement this advice.

But during the workout, the pulling, pushing and squatting were so exhausting that I couldn't help but relax a bit and settle into the double-unders. Frankly, I was too tired from the pull-ups and push-ups to flail my arms around, so I had to rely on my wrists to move the rope. And because my legs were burning from the squats, I didn't (couldn't!) rush my jumps, resulting in a much more sustainable double-under pace.

By pacing myself, I managed to fly through most of the double-unders. Yes, I got tripped up an average of once or twice per round, but for the most part, I was able to reel off at least 10 or 12 in a row each time.

My proudest moment: With a little less than 60 seconds left in the workout, I did 15 squats, 20 unbroken double-unders, 5 pull-ups and 1 push-up. As soon as the clock beeped, I collapsed on the floor, but I was happy to have finished strong.

Result: 11 rounds + 6 reps as RXed. Cindy plus 220 double-unders equals magic.

Monday's Workout: Memorial Day Murph

I've been hobbling around since last Friday's front squat-heavy WOD fried my quads, but there was no way I was going to miss the chance to do Murph at CrossFit Palo Alto this morning.



As you probably know, Murph is a CrossFit "Hero" workout named in honor of twenty-nine-year-old Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy of Patchogue, New York, who was killed in Afghanistan six years ago. CrossFit gyms around the country are participating in Memorial Day Murph, and raising money for three charities: The Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation, the Lone Survivor Foundation, and the Wounded Warrior Project.



I've written about Mike Murphy before, so I won't repeat myself except to say that the WOD we did today was one of Murph's favorites, and it's also one of mine. Doing this workout was a perfect way to honor not just this fallen SEAL, but also to remind us of the sacrifices made by all the men and women in our armed forces who are serving on our behalf. They do what they do so that we can enjoy the privilege of grilling meat on the backyard barbeque on a sunny spring holiday.

So here's what was in store for us today:

For time:

• 1 mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 squats
• 1 mile run

Although you have to start and end with one-mile runs, you can partition the pull-ups, push-ups and squats however way you want. Most folks break up the 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats into 20 rounds of Cindy (a 20-minute AMRAP of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats). I planned to do the same.

The first time I did Murph was on New Year's Day, and I loved it. I did it as RXed, and finished in just under 38 minutes, so I was pretty happy with my time. Nonetheless, I did by myself at home, and it just wasn't the same. Sure, I saved time by being able to do my push-ups and squats right underneath my pull-up bar, and didn't have to waste any time transitioning between exercises. But it simply wasn't as fun without the company of others next to me in the trenches.

That's why I was excited to see over two dozen folks show up at the gym at 9 a.m. to get our Murph on:

It was awesome.

We staggered the start -- half of the group began running first, and as soon as they returned, the rest of us took off. M (a.k.a. Nom Nom Paleo), who had (FINALLY) made up her mind to do Murph just the night before, was in the first group. I was in the second. Waiting for the first group of runners to get back was probably the most nerve-wracking part of the workout.

Once I started running, all the nervous energy got channeled into the effort. For me, the first mile wasn't bad at all. I kept up a good pace, and tried to stay true to the POSE method as much as possible.

The pull-ups, push-ups and squats went by pretty quickly, too. I started with 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups and 30 squats, and then did 16 rounds of Cindy before finishing up with another round of 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups and 30 squats. The push-ups wore me out after a while, but the pull-ups were smooth and quick. And although I had to pause with every 5 or 6 squats, I was able to crank 'em out at double-speed.

That's not to say there weren't some hiccups. I'd taped my palms to try to stave off ripped calluses and bloody hands, but (stupidly) forgot to tape my thumbs, so I ended up tearing chunks of skin off my thumbs midway through the WOD. And despite the tape on my palms, the skin underneath tore anyway.

I wasn't the only one who left DNA on the bars; here's Kyle's hand post-Murph:

The worst part? The final one-mile run. My legs were jelly, and POSE went right out the window. I ended up just lurching and stumbling the entire way. I watched as Carmela passed me, running with perfect form. "I was just telling your wife that I read your blogs!" she called out cheerily. I tried to say something gracious in response, but managed only a wheezy grunt as she zoomed past.

Result: 38:26 as RXed. Not bad, but not a PR; I was a half-minute faster in January. Nonetheless, this morning's Murph was infinitely more fun -- especially 'cause I got to share this experience with my wife. She'd been waffling about joining us for Murph this morning, and I'm glad she finally decided to take the plunge. Like me, M had a blast, and reported that she had a great time exchanging friendly obscenities with R. as they passed each other while running.

What? You somehow missed the fact that my wife has a potty mouth? I mean, this is the woman who ran the last 50 meters of Murph with a big grin and an upraised middle finger, people.

Monday's Workout

At the start of class this morning, we learned that the gym’s Max Effort Black Box programming was evolving ever-so-slightly. Instead of just doing three-week cycles of strength skills workouts paired with short metcons, we’re now adding a fourth week to each cycle devoted exclusively to longer WODs.

I love working on improving my lifting technique and developing strength, so I was a little bummed out at first, but it didn’t take me long to warm up to the idea. After all, this is an opportunity to do something new and different. With the exception of the occasional Hero WOD, we rarely devote much time in class to working the aerobic/oxidative metabolic pathway. Plus, we’re only testing our ability to “go long” one week a month -- which means we won’t be spending too much time in the land of catabolism.

And hey, at least we’re not doing three Hero WODs this week.

On tap for today -- “Cindy”:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 15 squats

I love bodyweight-centric metcon workouts. We’ve done a half-Cindy before, and a three-quarters-Cindy, too, and both were fun. And just a few weeks ago, we did Murph, which is basically 20 rounds of Cindy sandwiched between two 1-mile runs. But we’d never done a full, classic Cindy in class until today.

I really, really wanted to crush it. My goal was to complete 18 to 20 rounds in 20 minutes -- but I was hoping to end up closer to 20 than 18.

I shot out of the gate, blazing through the pull-ups, push-ups and squats in record time (for me, anyway). The first round took me 30 seconds, tops. I didn’t slow down much for the next few rounds, either. I felt awesome.

And then the wheels came off.

I had zero problems with the pull-ups or squats -- I never had to drop off the pull-up bar before finishing each 5-rep set, and the squats were fast and easy. But the push-ups were killing me today. Tim suggested that I adjust my hand positioning to put less stress on my shoulders, but for whatever reason, my push-ups just fell apart today. After ten rounds or so, I had to stop every 4 or 5 reps. After 15 rounds, I was reduced to pausing every 3 reps or so. It was ugly. I found myself looking forward to the squats and pull-ups just so I could take a break from the push-ups.

Result: 18 and a half rounds. (I made it 11 reps into my 19th round, but didn't finish -- what else? -- the push-ups.) Not terrible, but I certainly didn't get as close to 20 rounds as I'd hoped.

Of these three exercises, push-ups used to be the easiest for me -- so much so that I’ve obviously neglected them in favor of learning other moves. Today, they were the rate-limiting step. Looks like I need more practice.

But not today. Too damned sore. I'm too achy to even kick myself properly.

Saturday's Workout

Here's how I know I'm addicted to this stuff: I woke up this morning at 6, and my first thought of 2011 was "I can't wait to do Murph."

"Murph," by the way, is a CrossFit workout named in honor of twenty-nine-year-old Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy of Patchogue, New York, who was killed in Afghanistan five years ago.

His story is an incredibly harrowing and tragic one. In the summer of 2005, Murphy led a SEAL team on Operation Redwing, a mission to kill or capture Ahmad Shah, a Taliban leader. While on the mission, the four men on the team -- Murphy, Marcus Luttrell, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson -- were discovered in their hiding spot by local goat herders. The team initially detained the herders, but after some debate about whether the herders might betray their location, let them go. But within the hour, the four SEALs were pinned down in a fierce firefight against upwards of 150 Taliban fighters. The herders, it appears, betrayed their location.

During the firefight, Murphy exposed himself to enemy fire to reach higher ground to call for backup with his cell phone; he was successful, but was shot in the abdomen during the conversation. He returned to the fight, but did not survive the night. Dietz and Axelson were also eventually killed in the course of the next two hours. Luttrell was the sole survivor. Despite severe injuries, he managed to evade capture and crawl and walk seven miles until he was taken in by Pashtun tribesmen who protected him from Taliban forces until he was rescued by U.S. forces a week later. (Luttrell later wrote a book, "Lone Survivor," recounting the battle and its aftermath.)

Murphy was the first person to be awarded a Medal of Honor (posthumously) for actions in Afghanistan, and the first member of the Navy to receive the award since Vietnam.

According to the CrossFit main site, "[t]his workout was one of Mike's favorites." It's now one of mine, too.

For time:

• 1 mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 squats
• 1 mile run

You have to start and finish with the running, but you're allowed to partition the pull-ups, push-ups and squats however way you want. (Optional: Wear a weight vest or body armor -- Mike Murphy-style.)

I decided to break up the 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats into 20 rounds of Cindy -- which, as you may remember, is a 20-minute AMRAP of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats. Although I've not yet encountered a full 20 minutes of Cindy, we've done a 1/2 Cindy (10 minutes) and a 3/4 Cindy (15 minutes) in class. Each time, I'd managed to crank out about one round per minute.

Figuring I'd lose a little steam as the workout progressed, I estimated that 20 rounds would take me approximately 22 minutes to complete. I'm not a speedy runner, so I assumed my two mile-long runs would take 8 minutes each. And 22 + 8 + 8 = 38 minutes.

So how close was I to my guesstimate? Ten seconds off. I finished in 37:50. (Or thereabouts. The clock actually said 38:05, but I'm subtracting the roughly 15 seconds it took me to haul myself up off the floor, stagger over to my stopwatch, fumble with its buttons and finally stop the time.)

Nothing like a long metcon to kick off a brand new year, right?